Parish Nursing

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Parish Nursing (or Faith-Community Nursing) is the specialized practice of professional nursing that is focused on the process of promoting holistic health and wellness and preventing or minimizing injury and illness in the faith community.

The Parish Nursing Program at Children’s National Health System collaborates with the faith community, and faith community leaders to plan and implement health promotion and injury prevention programs to improve the health of pediatric and young adult populations.

Program Goals:

Increase awareness in faith communities regarding childhood illnesses and the prevention of disease in children and teens

Collaborate with the health ministries in established communities of faith to plan and implement programs designed to improve the health of children and teens

Educate faith communities about services provided at Children’s National for children, teens and families

Increase awareness in the faith communities about childhood illnesses and disease prevention in children

Strengthen relationships between Children’s National and faith communities whose children and families we serve through health awareness initiatives

Parish Nursing Program Offerings:

Training for registered nurses to become a parish nurse

Information and access to the unique programs and services for children, teens, and families at Children’s National

Speakers’ Bureau access—Subject matter experts who provide education regarding childhood illnesses and the prevention of disease in children

Consultation on establishing a Parish Nurse Program within a faith community or hospital system

Facilitation of a support and communication network for Parish nurses to promote education, resource sharing, program and profession development, advocacy, and research.

Parish Nursing Advisory Council:

The Advisory Council are volunteers who actively encourage and support the Parish Nursing Program. The members provide counsel and consultation to the manager of the Parish Nursing Program through reviews and recommendations of ideas, policies and procedures, and program assessment, planning, and evaluation. The council guides future plans for growth and development of the program and strategic planning. The membership includes our Sr. Chaplain, parish nurses, advanced practice nurses, local clergy, social work, and health educators.

The Foundations of Parish Nursing certificate program is designed to prepare nurses to serve effectively within their faith communities. Working collaboratively within a community of faith, the nurse may function in one or all of the following roles:

Health educator

Personal health counselor

Health advocate

Referral agent

Community liaison

Coordinator of volunteers

Integrator of faith and health

Developer of support groups

This foundations certificate program has a unique pediatric nursing focus. It is based on the curriculum developed through the International Parish Nurse Resource Center and is approved for 39.5 contact hours by Children’s National Health System Department of Nursing Education and Professional Development Division of Nursing Center for Continuing Education, an accredited provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. The program is delivered in the classroom and is taught by professional nursing faculty, pediatric healthcare subject matter experts, and experienced parish nurses. The program meets the American Nurses Association Faith Community Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice, 2nd Ed, requirement of 34 contact hours for continuing education of foundational content for faith community nursing.

The curriculum for the Foundations of Faith Community Nursing Course includes:

The integration of faith and health as central to the Parish Nurse role

Application of knowledge, attitude and skills to practice as a Parish nurse, particularly in the pediatric population

Identification of a network for continuing development and support

Commitment to continued spiritual formation to effectively understand and carry out the FCN role